A Toad In Remnant
by theQuietSage
Summary: Straight from his battle with Pein, Naruto is thrust into the world of Remnant, literally falling right in the middle of Beacon's entrance exam. Stranded at the Academy, can Naruto help the teams face off against the sinister forces gathering against them? No Harem.
1. Chapter 1 - Enter the Toad

**Authors Note: So, this has been in my head for a while, and I figured I'd give it a shot. **

**This is not a Harem or a threesome. I'm either pairing Naruto with Ruby or Weiss, I haven't decided yet.**

**I don't own the rights to Naruto or RWBY.**

* * *

Naruto leaned against a random tree, panting heavily. Despite being near collapse, he was happy. He'd just defeated Pein, a man not even Jiraiya, bless his perverted soul, could beat. He'd even managed to convince him to revive everyone he'd killed in the village.

His musings were cut short by a childish voice. "You've been a bad boy!" Naruto's head shot up. He recognized that voice. "So Tobi has to punish you now, because Tobi is a good boy!" Tobi walked out from the shadows, revealing himself to Naruto. Along wiht the traditional Akatsuki cloak, the man also concealed his face with an orange spiral mask, only revealing a single Sharingan eye.

"Why do you *_pant_* act like that? I know that *_pant_* it's just an act." Naruto asked, still leaning on the tree. However, his trembling seaced as he strove to become still.

"Because it's fun." Tobi said, though his voice had had completely changed, becoming deep and ominous. "But then, I suppose the time for fun is past."

"What a shame. I guess you've got to leave then." Naruto's voice was now steady voice, and he had successfully forced his body to be completely still, despite his exhaustion.

Tobi chuckled dryly. "I'm afraid not. You see, you just turned my favorite puppet against me. And I don't like that."

"Was that all he was to you?! A puppet!" Naruto somehow growled without moving his mouth. He couldn't afford to. As drained as he was, Naruto knew he needed Sage-Mode if he was to have any hope of escape. Unfortunately, with his remaining reserves, this was stupidly dangerous. Then again, he'd never let that stop him before.

"Well, not a very good one. He did betray me after all." Tobi said glibly. "It hardly matters now. Assuming my young friend succeeded, you're the last Jinchuriki I need."

'_Just a little longer. I'm almost there… Is that Kakashi?_' On the heels of Naruto's thoughts, the man himself arrived and charging Tobi with a Raikiri.

"Really Kakashi." The masked man berated as he let the attack pass through him before whipping around to deliver a devastating blow to his back. "You must know that attack is much too loud to surprise anyone." Tobi didn't give Kakashi time to counter and flashed over to place a hand on Naruto. "I'll see you soon." He said, activating his Kamui.

At that moment, Naruto finally entered Sage-Mode and wrenched himself from Tobi's grip. Now, the Dimensional-Warp had already begun, and as such he was temporarily uprooted from his reality. Given a quarter of a quarter of a second, his body would have snapped to the nearest plane of existence, namely the Elemental Nations. But, against all odds, someone, or something, took advantage of this small fraction of time. A circle of Runic symbols flared into existence at his feet and enveloped him in a blinding light. The, quick as it had arrived, it vanished, taking Naruto with it.

* * *

Weiss mentally cursed Ruby for abandoning her. Sure, the girl had some talent, but she way too reckless. Case and point, she'd somehow convinced her to hitch a ride on a Nevermore. What's worse, she'd jumped off, leaving Weiss to fend for herself.

"How could you leave me!?" She yelled at Ruby as she clung desperately to the Nevermore's talon. Somehow, Ruby had made it to the others, not that it helped her much.

"I said jump!" Ruby called.

"And that makes all the difference." She mumbled sarcastically. The nevermore violently shook its talon, and suddenly Weiss was falling. If she had been thinking clearly, she would probably have used her semblance to create a platform or something. Instead, in the grips of panic, she instinctively cast a glyph she'd never used before: A summoning glyph. Even though it was slightly different than the one she saw Winter use, Weiss recognized it immediately. She cast her mind out, trying to focus on bringing something that might save her. For some reason, the ridiculous thought of a giant frog leaping to catch her midair flashed through her mind. Her snort of amusement was interrupted as the glyph glowed brightly.

'_I swear to God, if I die because I just summoned a stupid FROG-_' Only, when the light faded, it wasn't a frog. Instead, a blonde teen appeared beside her.

He blinked at her with strange yellow eyes, then looked down at the rapidly approaching ground. "OH, COME ON!" He shouted in frustration. Faster than Weiss could react, the boy grabbed her and rotated, positioning himself beneath her. She froze at his touch, but before she could yell at him, they hit the ground.

Weiss's landing was relatively painless. Between her aura and the boy-! "Dust! Are you ok!?" She asked as she hurriedly jumped off him. She'd worry about how she'd summoned him later, right now she had to make sure he wasn't hurt. He did just use himself as her airbag, after all.

He surprised her by casually hopping to his feet. "Yep! It's going to take more than that to keep me down!" The grin he gave was so full of life that Weiss couldn't help but return it with a small smile of her own. She took the time to study his face. He was actually quite good looking, with his wild blonde hair and exotic whisker marks. But it was his eyes that drew her attention. The orange pigmentation surrounding them, combined with his yellow irises and horizontal pupils, gave his gaze an intense quality, as if he could learn everything about her with just a look.

Weiss was about to introduce herself when a resounding bang broke through the clearing. "That idiot!" She exclaimed when she saw her partner foolishly charge a Death-Stalker. Ruby was, predictably, tossed aside by the monster.

"What is that!?" The boy asked in shock.

"A Death-Stalker." She replied grimly as Ruby ran away from it. Overhead, piercing shriek sounded. "Oh dust." Weiss cursed as the returning Nevermore launched a volley of giant feathers, pinning her partner by her cloak. Knowing that she had little time, the heiress rushed towards Ruby, casting glyphs to increase her speed. Weiss reached her moments from disaster and stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground, the ice dust causing a frozen barrier to surge forward and catch the stinger, inches from Ruby's face.

"You are so childish!" She berated the girl.

"Weiss…?" Ruby asked from her position on the ground.

"And dimwitted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on you're fighting style. And I suppose… I can be a bit… difficult." As she spoke, she approached the downed girl and leaned over. "But if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if_ you _quit trying to show off, I'll be… nicer."

She leaned away, allowing Ruby to speak. "I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know I can do this."

For the first time, Weiss gave her a small, but genuine, smile. "You're fine." She was about to walk off when a voice stopped her.

"Are we just going to leave this thing here?" The whiskered teen, whom she still didn't have a name for, asked from beside her. "I mean, that ice isn't going to hold forever."

"There's no point." She stated in a dismissive tone. "By the time it melts, we'll have gotten our objective and be long gone."

"If you say so." He shrugged, before asking, "What _is_ the objective?"

"What, did you hit your head playing hero?" They turned to face the new speaker. It was that busty blonde girl. Weiss is pretty sure she heard Ruby call her Yang "Ozpin said we need to get the relics," She held up a golden horse piece, "And get back to the cliffs."

The boy nodded, though it was clear he was still confused. "… and Ozpin is?"

"Wait, seriously?" Yang asked.

"He isn't exactly a student." Weiss interjected.

"Then who is he?"

"Isn't it obvious!" Everyone jumped back in surprise as an Orange-Haired girl jumped between them. "He's a magical goat fairy!" She turned to him with sparkling eyes. "Mr. Fairy, I wish for infinite pancakes! No! Make me Queen of the Castle! Wait! The Queen of the Pancake Castle!" She gleefully requested in rapid fire.

Said fairy was obviously annoyed by his title. "Ok, first of all, my name is Naruto. Second, I am not a goat fairy! Or any other kind of fairy!"

"Are you sure? Cause you have goat eyes, and you popped right into the sky in a burst of magic sparkles to save Weiss. I'm pretty sure that makes you a goat fairy."

As Naruto developed a tick mark, the other girls burst out laughing, even Weiss, though she tried to hide it.

"These" He pointed at his eyes, "Are not _goat_ eyes! They are Toad eyes. Toad!" He visibly calmed himself. "And as for how I got here…" Nora, Ruby, and Yang leaned in close. "I have no idea." They face-faulted.

"That's actually my fault." Weiss explained. "I… might have summoned you. On accident."

Instead of getting angry as she expected, he seemingly took it in stride. "Makes sense."

"… You're not upset? Or surprised?" She wondered.

Naruto shrugged. "You said it was an accident. Besides, after the day I've had, this is nothing."

As Weiss pondered what could've possibly happened to make this seem insignificant, the others raced towards them. "Guys! That thing's circling back! What are we going to do?" The other blonde boy, Jaune, asked.

It was Ruby who, after taking a deep breath, spoke. "There's no point in fighting these things. We just need to grab the artifacts and get to the cliffs." She looked to Weiss, who nodded in approval.

"Glad to see you're finally using your head." She said.

Ruby chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah."

"Here." Blake said as she tossed Ruby a horse piece. "It's time to go." As if to punctuate her statement, the Death-Stalker increased its struggles.

"Right. Let's go!" Ruby called, waving everyone forward.

* * *

**(AN: For my sake, I will be referring to everyone by name, even if Naruto doesn't know them yet.)**

As they ran through the ruins, Naruto pondered his options. He wasn't too worried about getting back to Konoha, figuring that if worst comes to worst, he could just ask Ma to reverse summon him again. No, he had more immediate problems, namely the giant monsters chasing them.

The Nevermore flew perched atop a lone tower placed directly in their path, forcing the group to skid to a stop.

"Well that's great!" The blonde girl, who rivaled Tsunade in the breast department, said sarcastically.

As soon as she finished her statement, the Death-Stalker broke into the ruins with a screech. "I told you we should have killed it!" Naruto complained to Weiss.

"Save it!" She yelled as they rushed towards the fray. Nora gracefully maneuvered through the Nevermore's deadly volley of feathers before pulling out her weapon. She laughed gleefully as she fired several pink explosives at the bird, completely unaware of the Death-Stalker approaching her from behind.

"Oh no you don't!" Naruto cried, leaping towards it. He only had two minutes left, max, so he'd have to stick to Taijutsu. As Blake and Ren executed a dual cross-slash, Naruto delivered a devastating heel strike to the creature's skull, driving it into the ground. He used the force to launch himself into a backflip and landed next to the other two. "Come on, before it gets back up." Normally, he'd be all for finishing the thing off, but he was on a tight schedule. They nodded and, together, they chased after the others.

The bridge they were on was one of several radiating out from the central spire, which was set in the middle of a giant chasm. Crossing it left them exposed, but they didn't really have a choice. "It's coming back around!" Naruto shouted as they reunited with the group. His senses proved correct as, not moments later, the Nevermore came screeching in, intent on ramming the bridge. Not about to let the thing hurt anyone, Naruto leapt at the creature and latched onto its horn. "Up we go!" He yelled as he yanked its head back, forcing the Nevermore to veer upwards with a shriek of pain and causing them to barely miss the bridge. For some unfathomable reason, the Grimm did not take too kindly to its new passenger, and so decided to ram the structure atop the central spire to the Sage in a shower of rubble.

'_Here we go again._' Naruto thought as he plummeted towards the depths below. He contemplated using his remaining chakra for a clone to throw him back up, but the woman swinging towards him made that unnecessary.

"Hang on!" Blake yelled as she intercepted him midair, grabbing him by the waist. She yanked on her ribbon, whipping them back above the ruins. As she maneuvered them through the air, Naruto sensed something odd.

'_Are those… Cat ears?_' However, now wasn't the time to ask. "Thanks." He told Blake when they landed on the remaining platform of the spire.

"You're welcome." She said as she yanked her ribbon, dislodging her weapon from the stone. A cacophony of explosions drew his attention to the side, where Ruby, Yang, and Weiss were unloading a barrage of metal, fire, and ice at the returning Nevermore. Never one to be left out of a fight, Naruto decided to join in. His few remaining kunai would be ineffective against its armor, so he took advantage of the surrounding rubble and began hurling large sections stone at it. "Where are the others?" Naruto asked Blake as she also opened fire.

"They're dealing with the Death-Stalker!" She yelled over the noise.

"I knew we should have killed it when we had the chance." He mumbled. Noticing that the avian had grown a little too close for comfort, he threw a well-aimed stone, around twice his size, at its wing, knocking it off course.

"This isn't enough! We need a plan!" Weiss called.

"I've got it! Cover me!" Ruby suddenly exclaimed.

* * *

As the Nevermore came charging back in, Naruto asked Yang, "Are you sure about this?"

She scoffed. "You really think that over-grown rooster is going to scare me? Please. I'm _cock_ed and loaded, and ready for action!" She said enthusiastically.

He chuckled as he picked her up. "Then let's do this." Now, to remain in Sage-Mode for this long, he'd been forced to gather some extra natural energy while Ruby had explained the plan. It had felt slightly different than he was used to, but he could still work with it. However, what little of his own chakra that he'd managed to regain during his short time here wasn't enough to remain perfectly balanced. As a result, his hands had developed slight webbing and a few warts, and he wasn't quite as strong. Still, he was plenty strong enough for this. Taking careful aim, he yelled, "Head's up!" as he hurled Yang at the monster bird's face.

It was a perfect throw. When the Nevermore attempted to swallow her whole, Yang instead used her body to brace the beak open. "I! HOPE! YOU'RE! HUNGRY!" She yelled as she fired continuous rounds into its beak, keeping it distracted as it flew towards the cliff face. As the approached, she jumped out of its mouth, nailing the dismount with a perfect backflip onto the ruins. The Nevermore tried to change directions, but it was far to late for that, and it flew headfirst into the cliff. It fell, landing on the bridge with a scream of defiance.

Weiss was having none of that. Using her glyphs, she rushed the creature. She jumped at it and stabbed its perch, freezing the Nevermore's tail in place before it could escape. She used another rune to propel herself back to the others, where Naruto and Blake had stretched her ribbon between two pillars.

When Ruby jumped onto it with Crescent Rose, stretching it, Weiss kept her in place with a black sigil.

"Of course _you_ would come up with this idea." Weiss commented.

"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm, Can I!" She answered confidently.

Apparently Ruby failed to pick up on that. "Can you?"

"Of course I can!" She snapped back. As Ruby looked forward and cocked her gun, Weiss charged her glyph, turning it a deep red, before releasing it.

Ruby shot forward like a cannonball, speeding through the air as she used her weapon's recoil to accelerate further. She caught the Nevermore around the neck with her Scythe, landing vertically on the cliff face, where Weiss created another trail of runes running up the stone wall. Yelling with effort, Ruby raced up them, dragging the monster behind her. As she reached the top, she put on one last burst of speed and, as the Nevermore hit the edge, decapitated it in a flurry of Rose Petals.

When she stood at the edge of the cliff, here cape fluttering in the wind as wielded her giant scythe, Naruto couldn't describe her as anything other than pure badass. "She sure is something." He commented in awe.

"I guess she is." Weiss conceded. In all honesty, she was thinking along the same lines Naruto was. These thoughts were cut short, however, as he collapsed beside her. "Naruto?!"

* * *

Weiss studied Naruto as he slept in the infirmary, where he'd been rushed to as soon as they'd exited the Emerald Forest. As far as the doctors could tell, he was suffering from exhaustion; though, even that was a guess as their instrument's couldn't accurately read his aura.

He looked largely the same, the only difference was the disappearance of the orange highlights around his eyes. Was did that mean? Was it good? Bad? Did it even mean anything? As concern continued to plague her, she found that her worries over team RWBY's leadership seemed somewhat less important. Yes, they'd gone through team placement about an hour ago, though she'd been largely unable to focus. They others had visited Naruto too, but had left a little while ago. Well, Blake and Yang had left. Ruby had decided to stay with her, but she'd fallen asleep in her chair.

If he didn't get up, if he was seriously hurt, it would be her fault. She was the one that brought him here after all. She'd pulled him from dust knows where into a free fall, and his immediate reaction was to protect her. She chuckled slightly at the irony, a Faunus protecting the Schnee heiress. Sure, he probably didn't know who she was, but the point still stands.

He completely subverted her expectations of dealing with Faunus. Her dealings with the species were limited to say the least, and growing up under the constant threat from the White Fang, coupled with her father's frequent rants, had led to Weiss developing an unfavorable view on the race. Sure, logically she knew that most weren't bad people, but the mind wasn't always logical. Yet, Naruto hadn't thought twice before risking his life to protect her

Her musings were disrupted when someone spoke behind her. "You look troubled Weiss."

She whirled around. "Oh, Professor Ozpin. I'm- I'm fine. I just…" She trailed off, unsure how to voice her thoughts.

"Hmm." He hummed as he sipped from his ever-present mug. "You know, at this point in my life, I'm rarely surprised anymore." He gave her a look. "Yet, you haven't even been here for 48 hours and you've managed to do so twice."

"Twice?" She asked I confusion.

"Yes, twice. Now, obviously the first was the boy's appearance, but it's your attitude towards him, despite his heritage, that impresses me."

She stiffened slightly at the implied accusation. "I'm not my father."

"Yes, I know." He took another sip of his coco. "I'm glad to see I was right about you."

A moment of silence passed before Weiss asked, "Professor, what's going to happen to him?"

"Now, that all depends on what young Naruto wants, doesn't it?" He approached the bed as his hand began to glow a bright green. "Why don't we ask him?" Ozpin suggested. He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and the power discharged in an audible zap.

* * *

Naruto rubbed his hands together in anticipation, not even bothering with the drool dripping from his open mouth, at the prize before him. It was at least as big as his apartment, and it was all his. This amazing, massive, delicious bowl of ramen.

Teuchi and Ayame really outdid themselves this time. After he had defeated Pein, the entire village had chipped in to purchase this masterpiece for their savior. Even Sasuke, the duck-butted jerk that he was, had come back to thank him for saving their home. "Get ready! I'm gonna jump!" Naruto called down to the cheering villagers. Well, not everyone was cheering. Sasuke just gave his trademark "Hn," but you could hear the approval in it. "Here I go!" He yelled as he dove towards the bowl. He didn't even bother holding his hands in front of him, instead plummeting towards it headfirst with his mouth wide open. He was moments away from that heavenly goodness when a surge of power rushed through him.

"Gah!" Naruto shouted as he sat up in bed. He looked around, disoriented, before his gaze fell on the man beside him. "You couldn't have waited another five seconds Kakashi-Sensei! I-" Naruto blinked as he came into focus. "You're not Kakashi."

"No, I'm afraid not." The man said with a chuckle. "My name is Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon academy." He gestured towards two familiar girls behind him. "You've already met two of my students, Weiss and Ruby."

"Oh yeah. Hey Weiss! Good to see you again!" He greeted cheerfully.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, a bit surprised by his good mood, or that he was even up at all. She figured Ozpin must have a healing semblance or something.

"Oh! I'm fine." His eyes then locked onto Ruby's sleeping form, and a devious smile spread across his face. "Hang on." He said to forestall any further discussion as he climbed out of bed. Wiess moved to stop him, only for Ozpin to shake his head. The boy was a curiosity; even with the slight bit of magic he'd used to wake him up, he seemed far more recovered than he should. Perhaps it was reckless to use magic for something so trivial, but he was intrigued.

Naruto steadily made his way over to Ruby, not showing any signs that he'd been hospitalized for extreme exhaustion earlier that day, and placed his mouth directly by her ear. "GOOOOOOOD MORNING!" He shouted, before leaping away. It was a good thing he did, or the small girl might have decapitated him.

"Stay away from my cookies!" She shouted as she brandished her Scythe, swinging it wildly. It took her a few moments to realize that tiny evil mole Grimm were not, in fact, trying to rob her of her baked goods. "Hehe. Oops." She said awkwardly to the three faces staring at her. The awkward silence reigned for a second before Naruto burst into laughter, falling back on the bed.

"Hahaha! That- Haha- Was awesome!" This seemingly opened the floodgates to allow Ozpin and Weiss to release laughter of their own, albeit theirs were far more subdued.

Ruby sighed in relief as the tension left, only to realize who it was that had spoken. "Naruto!" She bounded over and pulled him into a surprisingly strong hug. "You're ok!" She cried.

"_Air._" He choked out.

"Get off him you dolt! He just now woke up!" Weiss demanded.

Ruby jumped back, flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry! I was just really happy you're ok." She averted her eyes and fiddled with her scythe, how'd pushed her fingers together in a very Hinata-esque fashion. Naruto frowned as he remembered how she'd sacrificed herself for him. Even if Nagato brought her back, that didn't change the fact that she was willing to die for him. Why? His memory about it was fuzzy, but he knew she'd said something. Something important. Deciding to shelve the thought for now, Naruto refocused on the present to find the others looking at him with concern, and some anger in Weiss's case.

"What?" He asked.

"What do you mean what? You're the one ignoring us!"

"Sorry about that." He apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Ruby just reminded me of someone."

"Oh good. I thought I said something to make you hate me." Ruby said, before freezing at Naruto's questioning look. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yeah. Why would you think something like that?" He asked.

"I'm… not really good with people. I have trouble making friends, and when you went quiet, I thought it was my fault." She admitted hesitantly.

"Well that's just stupid." Naruto said, causing her to become depressed. "Why wouldn't I want to be your friend?" Her head shot up at that, all traces of depression gone. "I mean, seriously. You're cute, you're super nice, and the way you fight is just awesome!" As he talked, Ruby's face blushed a deep red to match her cloak.

"Th-thanks." She stuttered.

"So how about it Ruby! Want to be my friend?" He stuck out his hand.

"Yeah!" She took his hand in a firm grip despite her embarrassment. "That sound's great!"

When they disengaged, he offered the same hand to Weiss. "How about you Weiss? Want to be my friend too?"

She hesitated, thinking about how her father would react to her befriending a Faunus. No, this was her decision, her life. Not his. "As a matter of fact, I would." She gracefully accepted, shaking his hand with far more delicacy than Ruby.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me." Ozpin said, clasping his hands.

"Sure!" Naruto agreed.

"Splendid. The others have already told me their side of the story, but I must ask. Who are you? And where did you come from?"

"Is that all? I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Shinobi of Konohagakure and the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku!" He would have continued, but Ruby stopped him by repeatedly poking him in the face.

"Amazing." She rapidly poked him in several places before stepping back, satisfied. "What's your secret? You look so young, I'd never have guessed that you're an old man!"

"Old! What are you talking about? I'm sixteen!" Naruto denied indignantly.

Ruby cocked her head in confusion. "You're not? But aren't Sages supposed to be, like, really old?"

"That is a common misconception." Ozpin said. He gave Naruto a calculating look. "A Sage is anyone that can become one with nature and use its energy."

"Yeah, that's right. How'd you know?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, I once met a Sage long ago who explained it to me." He answered vaguely, before his expression turned grim. "Unfortunately, he died shortly after."

"I'm sorry." Naruto apologized.

"Don't be. Like I said, it was a long time ago. I am curious where you learned it from."

"I learned it from the Toads." Naruto answered.

"You mean other toad Faunus, right?" Weiss asked for clarification.

Naruto looked at her, confused. "What's a Faunus?"

Weiss looked taken aback. "Wha- I- You know, a Faunus! They're like humans, but they some animal feature, like bunny ears, or a tail, or like your eyes!" She exclaimed in disbelief.

"What do you mean 'like my eyes'? What's wrong with them?" Naruto asked, panicked. He didn't feel any of the Kyuubi's chakra, but if his eyes had changed, then he was clearly doing so.

Ozpin, rapidly assessing the situation, grabbed a nearby mirror. "See for yourself." He said, handing it to the Sage.

When Naruto looked at his reflection, his panic rapidly gave way to shock. His eyes… they weren't slit like the fox's. No, staring back at him were the horizontal eyes of a toad.

* * *

**Authors Note: Alright, new story. Now, updates for this might be a little irregular because I'm going to be mainly focusing on A Raven's Sage, but I wanted to give this a go. I hope you guys enjoyed.**


	2. Chapter 2 - A Leader's Responsibility

**Authors Note: Here's the second chapter, enjoy.**

**Sorry it took a while, I've been a bit busy. A Raven's Sage should be out in a few days.**

**Also, does anyone else think Boarbatusk sounds like a Pokémon name?**

**Sadly, I still don't own the rights to Naruto or RWBY.**

* * *

Ruby watched Naruto with some concern. He'd been staring at his reflection for the past minute, completely unaware of his surroundings. '_Is this going to become a thing?_' She wondered idly. At least she knew it wasn't her fault this time. "Uh, Naruto? Are you ok?" She finally asked, unable to bear the silence any longer.

"Well, it appears my eyes never changed back." He tried to sound casual, but Ruby managed to pick up on his underlying panic.

"What do you mean, 'changed back'? Changed from what?" Weiss inquired, confused.

Ruby somehow connected the pieces before the studious heiress. "They're only supposed to be like that when you do your Sage thingy." Everyone looked at her in surprise. "What?" She defended herself. "He said he was a _Toad_ Sage, and he obviously knew his eyes were like a Toad's when Nora called him a fairy."

"Quite the astute observation." Ozpin praised.

"Thanks." She chirped.

"So why haven't they changed back?" Weiss asked.

"Hmm." Naruto tapped his chin, before dropping his hand. "I've got nothing. Maybe Pa will know."

"And Pa is..." Weiss prompted.

Realizing that they had no idea who that was, Naruto added, "Oh! He's the Toad how taught me Sage Mode."

"Wait!" Ruby exclaimed. "You mean you were taught by _actual_ toads? And they talk!?" She asked in disbelief.

"Of course they talk. They'd be pretty bad teachers if they couldn't."

"That's so cool!" Ruby was literally bouncing from excitement. "How big are they? Who taught them to talk? Are they all Sage people? Is Pa really your Dad? Does-"

"Ruby," Ozpin interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder. "As fascinating as all this is, I'm afraid Naruto can only answer so many questions at once. Besides," He turned to Naruto. "I'm sure you have questions of your own."

Ruby quieted, finally noticing that Naruto seemed overwhelmed. "Sorry."  
'_I have to stop doing that_' She berated herself.

"It's alright Ruby." Naruto reassured cheerfully, much to her relief. He turned back to Ozpin. "So, uh, where are we?"

"This is Beacon Academy, where we train future Huntsmen and Huntresses. As I said earlier, I am the Headmaster here." He answered.

"Cool. And how far is that from Konoha?"

"I'm afraid I don't know where that is."

Naruto looked genuinely shocked at this. "You don't?" He shook his head. "What about the Land of Fire? Or the Elemental Nations."

"I apologize, but I've never heard of these places before."

Ruby watched as he visibly deflated in disappointment. "Oh."

"I'm sorry." Weiss apologized. "This is my fault. I was the one who summoned you."

At her words, Naruto's entire demeanor shifted again. "Don't worry about it. It's not like you did this on purpose. Besides, I should have enough chakra to summon Pa in a couple of days. He can just bring me back with a reverse-summoning."

'_Chakra?_' Ruby wondered, unknowingly echoing Ozpin's own thoughts.

"You can both summon?" Weiss asked before Ruby could ask about the unfamiliar term.

"Yeah. I have a summoning contract with the Toads."

As Weiss processed this information, Ozpin clapped his hands, his mug inexplicably gone. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you have a way home. I would be happy to house you here at Beacon while you regain your strength." He offered.

"Really? Thanks Gramps." Naruto said cheerfully.

While Ruby snickered and Weiss looked aghast at the disrespect, Ozpin merely smiled. "It's no problem. Of course, while you're here, you'll have to attend classes with the other students."

Naruto paled. "I have to go back to s_chool!?_"

The headmaster chucked. "Come now, it won't be that bad. You might even learn something." He approached the door. "I'll have Professor bring your schedule when she shows you to your room." Ozpin said before leaving the room.

* * *

Naruto glared at the evil machine that had awoken him. It was mocking him with its incessant noise, hanging back just far enough so that he couldn't smash it to pieces! Why did alarm clocks, of all things, have to be the same in this dimension! Yes, between how weird everyone's chakra had felt when he was in Sage Mode and the fact that no one seemed to know about the Elemental Nations, Naruto had used his vast intellect to deduce that he was in another dimension. Shikamaru would be impressed.

The broken moon in his window hadn't hurt either.

That didn't really bother Naruto; after all, the Summoning Jutsu should still work. At least he was pretty sure it would. No, what bothered him was that the alarm WOULDN'T SHUT UP! With a groan of defeat, he staggered out of bed and hit the stupid snooze button. However, he used a bit too much force and shattered it.

"Oops." Back home, alarm clocks were reinforced to deal with tired shinobi. Guess they don't do that here. Oh well, at least the beeping had stopped. Now onto the next monstrosity that this place shared with Konoha: School.

* * *

"No!" Naruto cried in despair as he fell to his knees. How? How could they!?

"Naruto!" Ruby flashed to his side, followed shortly by the rest of her team. "What's wrong?!"

"They -*_Sniff_*- They don't have ramen!" He lamented with anime tears streaming down his face. It was bad enough that the uniform he was forced to wear barely had any orange, but this was unacceptable!

As her teammates face faulted, Ruby decided to impart her wisdom upon him. "So what? They have cookies!" She retrieved a head sized cookie from thin air to emphasize her point. It must have been at least three times the size of the ones the cafeteria provided.

"As if a mere cookie could compare the splendor that is ramen." Naruto scoffed through his tears.

Ruby gasped. "You take that back! Cookies are the most delicious things in the world!"

"No way!" Naruto leapt to his, his grief apparently forgotten. "Cookies are just bread trying to be fancy! Ramen is the food of the Gods!"

"Oh no." Yang murmured in horror. If there were two thing you never insulted in front of Ruby, they were Crescent Rose and cookies.

"No, cookies are!" Ruby shouted, getting in his face.

"Ramen!"

"Cookies!"

"Ramen!"

"Cookies!"

"I've always been partial to sushi." Blake commented.

"Not now!" Ruby and Naruto yelled simultaneously, still glaring at each other. Naruto idly found her preference hilarious, considering she was a cat Faunus. He wasn't going to comment on it though. From what he'd gathered from Professor Oobleck's lecture, not everyone treated Faunus fairly, and that Cardin hadn't been very subtle in his dislike for him. Naruto knew what is was like to be hated for something out of your control. If she wanted to hide her heritage, he wasn't going to out her. Besides, Ruby had insulted the honor of the Ramen Gods! He must have vengeance!

"You wanna go?!" He asked.

Ruby drew her rifle, transforming it into a scythe. "Bring it!"

"Would you two quit it!" Weiss demanded. "You're making a scene."

They paused to see that the entire cafeteria was, in fact, staring at them. They both laughed awkwardly as they backed away from each other.

"Heh, I guess I got a little carried away." Ruby said as she disengaged her scythe.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Naruto apologized.

"Let's just go." Weiss suggested tiredly as she headed to a table. Ruby, who was clearly uncomfortable being the center of attention, quickly followed her with the rest of her team without grabbing lunch. Naruto, on the other hand, was used to people staring at him and took the time to grab a few burgers.

"Forget something?" He asked as he rejoined team RWBY, handing Ruby a burger as he sat beside her.

"Oh! Thank you!" She snatched it from his hands and chowed down, absolutely starving. "Ya' awefam" Ruby said through her mouth full of food.

"Oh, I'm so happy you made up." Yang said as Ruby took a huge bite. "I have it when my friends have _beef_ with each other." Silence descended upon the group, only broken by the sound of Ruby swallowing. "Get it? Beef?" She said, holding up her own burger.

"Why Yang? Just why?" Ruby shook her head in embarrassment.

"Come on, that was a good one! Right Blake?" Yang asked her partner. Blake shook her head. "Weiss? Naruto?" She asked hopefully.

"Absolutely not." Weiss adamantly denied.

"Sorry Yang." Naruto apologized. "But that was just _bad_."

* * *

Naruto. Was. So. Bored. You'd think that a class called 'Grimm Studies' would at least be somewhat exciting, but nope! He had to listen to Professor Port ramble on about cabbages or something. The most exciting thing about the man were his eyebrows. Seriously, those things could rival Rock Lee's, and maybe even Guy's.

***In the Elemental Nations***

"Lee!" Might Guy shouted to his pupil.

Lee straightened to attention, dropping his lumber. "Yes Guy-Sensei!"

"Do you feel that?" The man asked.

"I do! Someone is challenging our youth!"

"Precisely! Come, we must run 100 laps around Konoha to prove our youthfulness!" Guy yelled, giving Lee a thumbs up.

"Yosh! And if I cannot do that, I will do one thousand pushups!"

"And if you are unable to finish, I will climb the Hokage Monument with a boulder tied on my back!"

"And if you fail, I shall do it for you!"

Guy faced his student, his eyes shining with tears of pride. "Lee!"

"Guy-Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-Sensei!"

They rushed each other for an embrace. "Look away!" Tenten shouted in panic. Unfortunately, her warning came to late for the other workers, who took the full brunt of the infamous Sunset of Youth. It would take them several days to recover.

***Back in Remnant***

'_At least Ruby's keeping things interesting._' He thought, snickering at her sketch of 'Professor Poop' and accompanying raspberry. Luckily for him, the tables were long enough for him to sit with her team.

"Ah-heh-hem." Professor Port cleared his throat to get their attention. When he had it, he continued his story. "In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high. Celebrated, as a hero." He gave a little bow. "The moral of this story? A true…"

Naruto ignored him again, much more interested in Ruby's antics. She was, in an impressive display of talent, balancing an apple atop a book with her pencil. The configuration was slightly reminiscent of his sage training. Then, she rapidly disassembled her creation and took a two second nap before pretending to pick her nose. By this point, Naruto was struggling to hold his laughter. He didn't know if she was putting on a show, or just being Ruby, but he didn't care. So enthralled by her antics, he failed to notice Weiss's mounting frustration with her.

"You there!" Professor Port's booming voice brought him back to reality. Naruto faced forward to find the teacher pointing at him, seemingly chosen at random. "Do you believe yourself to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Having no idea what the man was talking about, Naruto guessed, "…Yes."

"Well then, let's find out!" He gestured to a large cage next to him. How had Naruto missed that? "Step forward, and face your opponent!"

"Wait… I get to fight?" Naruto asked in excitement.

"But of course!" Port expounded.

"Yatta!" Naruto cheered as he vaulted himself over the desk. Finally, some action.

"Your eagerness is commendable, but perhaps you should retrieve your weapon first?" Port asked.

"I'm good." Naruto replied, patting the kunai pouch on his belt that he'd refused to leave behind.

"Very well." He walked behind his desk to retrieve his battleaxe.

"Kick some butt!" Yang yelled.

Beside her, Blake waved a small flag, a sticky note with Naruto's name covering her team name. "Fight well."

"Gooooo Naruto!" Ruby cheered.

Weiss, fed up with all things Ruby, took the opportunity to shush her leader. "Shh! Let him focus!"

Naruto, who hadn't heard Weiss's comment, shot Ruby a grin. "Thanks Ruby-chan!"

"-Chan?" She wondered quietly.

"Alright!" The professor announced, now next to the cage with his axe held high. "Let the match… begin!" He brought his blade down on the lock, releasing the monster within.

As soon as it was freed, the Boarbatusk charged Naruto at top speeds. Even so, Naruto was used to fighting at far greater speeds and easily jumped out of its path.

"Ha-ha! Wasn't expecting _that_, were you?" Professor Port declared.

No, he hadn't. After yesterday's excitement, he'd been expecting something… bigger. This thing was barely larger than Akamaru. "Hang in there Naruto!" Ruby encouraged as the boar charged him once more.

Still, he had an audience; might as well put on a little show.

"You got it!" Naruto moved his hands into a familiar cross shape. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He intoned, creating two clones of himself. They nodded to each other and immediately rushed to meet the Grim, weaving around each other to confuse it. Seconds before contact, they crossed paths once more and, now on either side of the creature, threw themselves forward into twin skids. Sliding beneath those dangerous tusks, each clone delivered a powerful kick to its chin which forced it onto its hind legs. Not giving the Boarbatusk any time to recover, the original launched himself at it. "Ya!" Naruto cried as he struck its exposed stomach with enough force to end it flying into the far wall. Huh, it id didn't have any armor there.

"Impressive!" Port booms.

"Yeah! Show it who's boss Naruto!" Ruby called, oblivious to Weiss's annoyed glare.

Naruto and his clones grinned. It felt good to have someone cheering you on. He would have responded, but the Grimm looked like it was about to attack. His suspicion was proven correct when it tucked into a rapid spin, charging at him like a spiked wheel of Death. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Naruto asked his clones.

"Yeah!/Let's do it!" They responded enthusiastically. They locked hands to form a three-man chain. "Here we go!" Clone-1 heaved on the arm in his grasp and spun, whipping the linked bodies around him like a lasso.

"Take this!" Naruto yelled as he, propelled by the centripetal force, slammed his foot into the Boarbatusk's side. The middle clone holding him let go, allowing him to follow through, driving the beast to the ground. Naruto then used his remaining momentum to launch himself off it in a back-flip while simultaneously drawing three kunai from his pouch. He threw knives mid-flip, lodging one in its throat and while the other two pierced its unprotected underside to impale its heart. The Grimm died before it could even squeal.

Naruto landed gracefully, though he remained tense. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually ended a fight with a kunai, let alone without using the Rasengan; fights never went that smoothly. He only allowed himself to relax when it's corpse began to evaporate in a black smoke.

"Bravo! Bra-vo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true hunter-in-training." Professor Port boomed.

"Way to go Naruto!" Ruby congratulated him from her seat.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today." Port continued. "Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

As soon as he finished, Ruby vanished in a flurry of rose petals, much to Naruto's confusion. "Woah!" Her voice sounded from behind him. He turned to find her examining one of his, now clean, kunai. "Look at this! It's so compact," She lightly ran her finger along the edge, her aura protecting her from being cut. "and so sharp!" She exclaimed, examining it from every angle.

"Of course! Kakashi-Sensei may be lazy, but he made sure to teach me how to take care of my weapons." Naruto said proudly.

"Give him his knife back Ruby." Yang scolded as she walked over with Blake. "Sorry Naruto, Ruby's a bit of a weapon's nut."

"Am not!" She denied, though she did give Naruto his kunai back. "I… just have a great appreciation for them." Naruto chuckled; she'd get along great with Tenten. "Hey, where's Weiss?" Ruby asked when she noticed the girl's absence.

"She left a few seconds after you did." Blake informed her.

Ruby frowned. "Has she been acting… strange?" Huh, now that she mentioned it, Weiss had seemed a little off.

"I don't know." Yang said. "She did seem a bit upset."

"I'll go check on her." Ruby decided, rushing out of the room to try to catch up.

Naruto collected his other two kunai. "Wait up!" He called, also concerned for is friend, as he went after her. Apparently she didn't hear him, because when he exited the classroom, Ruby was already gone. Assuming they were going to the dorms, he headed that way.

* * *

"Weiss!" Ruby called. It hadn't taken her long to catch up with the girl; right now they were in the middle of a hallway intersection.

"What!" Weiss snapped as she rounded on the girl. She didn't look happy.

Ruby was taken aback by the hostility in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She ground out. Ok, that was obviously a lie.

"Seriously, what's going on? Why are you so mad?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes!" Seriously, why else would she be asking?

"Alright. It's because of you."

"Me?"

"Yes! You're supposed to be our leader, but you treat it like a joke! I mean, you don't pay the slightest bit of attention in class; the only things you've done today are goof off and flirt with Naruto!"

"I never flirted with him." Ruby mumbled.

"Yes you were, but that's beside the point! You've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you've only continued to do so!"

"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team."

"Not a team led by you. I've studied and trained. And quite frankly, I deserve better." Weiss turned away from her. "Ozpin made a mistake." She said, then walked away.

"Weiss." Ruby mumbled. '_Is she right? Oh, who am I kidding, of course-_'

"She's wrong." Someone said, interrupting her thoughts.

Ruby spun around. "Naruto?" She asked when she saw who it was. Had he been there the whole time?

"She's wrong." Naruto repeated with total confidence.

Ruby watched him, a small flicker of hope in her eyes. "How can you be so sure?" He didn't even know her that well. After all, they'd only met yesterday.

"Because you care." Naruto said like it was obvious.

"What?" Of everything he could have said, this surprised Ruby the most. She'd expected him to mention her plan against the nevermore, or maybe her skills as a huntress.

"Ruby, I've only known you for a day, but anyone can see how much you care about your friends. That's how Ozpin knows whenever you on a mission, your team will always be your first priority. He knows that he can trust you with them, because you will do everything you can to protect them." Ruby stared at him in wonder, a small, imperceptible blush forming. "That's a leader's job after all. Not just to complete the mission, but to protect those under them, no matter what. That's why he chose you, dattebayo."

Ruby's spirits lifted at his words, only to be crushed by a renewed doubt as the full weight of her responsibility finally hit her. "But… what if I'm not good enough? What if I can't protect them?" This was the first time she actually thought about it. If she was the leader, if anything happened to her team, to Blake, or Weiss, or Yang, it would be her fault. If she wasn't good enough, they could die. She wasn't in Signal anymore.

A wide grin spread across Naruto's face. "Then get better. That's why we train, so that we _are_ good enough." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're the leader now. Can you handle that?"

Could she? This was way more responsibility than she thought she was ready for, but if it was for her team, her friends... Ruby straightened, determination burning in her silver eyes. "Yeah, I think I can." She would. She'd be the best huntress she could; both to prove herself to Weiss, and so she could protect her team. Ruby smiled. "You know, you're pretty good at this."

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, really?"

"Yeah. You are." They stood in comfortable silence, before she asked, "Dattebayo?"

He groaned.

* * *

Weiss fumed as she stalked down the hall, with no real destination in mind. She just needed to get away from it all, to get a few minutes away from her insufferable leader. '_Ruby._' She thought in agitation. Why couldn't she just leave her alone. When Ruby had gone to, presumably, flirt with Naruto after his fight, she'd tried to leave to keep from blowing up at the girl, but she'd followed her anyway. She'd been unable to hold back any longer and laid into the girl. Weiss frowned. Even if everything she'd said was true, she, probably, could have been nicer about it. She was just so frustrated.

Weiss stopped walking when she realized she'd reached the courtyard. Bathed in the afternoon sun, it seemed to possess a kind of ethereal calm that was at total odds with her emotions.

"It's beautiful, isn't it." Ozpin said as he moved beside her.

Even if the man surprised her, Weiss had plenty of practice in hiding her reactions. "I guess." She said, reluctant to agree with the man who'd overlooked her.

"Go ahead."

"What?" She had no idea what he was talking about.

Ozpin looked at her. "Don't you have something to ask me?"

Oh. Maybe now she could get some answers. "Why?"

"Why what?" He asked with feigned confusion.

Wiess scowled; apparently, he was going to make her say it. "Why did you choose Ruby over me? I'm clearly more suited for it."

"Oh? Now why is that?"

"Because!" She snapped. "I'm the better huntress! I've trained my entire life for this! I'm probably one of the best students here; I'm ready for this! Ruby, on the other hand, is childish, immature, and totally irresponsible!"

"Hmm." Ozpin seemed to consider her words. "I'm afraid to say that the only one acting like a child is you."

"How dare you!" Weiss cried, indignant. How could he call _her_ the child? She was the only one who took anything seriously around here!

"As a Schnee, you've spent your life getting exactly what you wanted-"

"That's not true!" She denied. He raised a single eyebrow above his glasses. "Well… not _entirely _true." Weiss corrected herself, thinking of her father.

"...So when things didn't go your way," Ozpin continued, "You lashed out at those responsible. Not unlike a child throwing a tantrum." He gave he a pointed look.

Weiss swallowed at the reference to her encounter with Ruby. "You saw that." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. As did Naruto."

For some reason, the thought of Naruto witnessing her lose of control bothered her so much more than the Headmaster seeing it. Why was that? "Weiss, no one is questioning your skills, but you as you are, leadership doesn't suit you. Use your time here at Beacon to grow, not just as a huntress, but as a person." As her anger melted away, he gave her a kind smile. "Think about it." Ozpin said before leaving her. She stayed, pondering his words.

* * *

Instead of eating dinner with her team, Weiss sat at a table in the back of the library, stalling. She didn't want to face Ruby right now; she knew she had to apologize, but it wasn't something she had much experience with. The fact that Naruto would be there, and that he also knew what happened, had absolutely nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.

"We need to talk Weiss." The boy she was definitely not avoiding said. Wait, what?

"Naruto!" Weiss jerked, but quickly attempted to regain her composure. "What are you doing here?" Why was everyone sneaking up on her today!

He didn't answer, instead he sat across the table from her. Naruto locked gazes with her, his unique eyes searching for something. "I talked with Ruby." Weiss flinched, both at the reminder of her actions and his tone. He didn't raise his voice nor was it accusing, instead he kept it carefully neutral. Somehow, that was worse.

"Is she ok?" As much as Weiss didn't want to talk about this, she needed to know that she was alright. Ruby looked crushed after she yelled at her, but Weiss had been too angry to care then.

For some reason, her question caused Naruto to sag in relief. "Oh, thank Kami." He breathed. "Yeah," He spoke up with his usual enthusiasm, much to her relief. "She cheered up after I gave her some advice. Besides, Ruby's strong, Ruby's a strong girl." Naruto gave her a look before asking, "What about you? I was there, and you looked pretty upset."

His question stunned her. She was the one that tore into Ruby, yet Naruto was asking about her. "I… don't know. Ozpin and I talked, and I get why he didn't choose me, but… I said some pretty mean things to Ruby." She looked down at her hands. "What do I do now? Will she even forgive me?"

"Of course she will." Naruto's voice drew her gaze back up. "Ruby's not the kind of girl to hold a grudge. Believe me, I've met plenty of people like that."

She smiled. "No, I guess she's not."

* * *

"Do I have to do this now?" Weiss asked for the third time, her face red for some reason.

"No time like the present." Naruto replied cheerfully. Currently, he was dragging Weiss to the dining hall to catch Ruby before she left. "Besides, I haven't eaten yet. Hopefully Ozpin realized his error and got Ramen!" He added, drooling slightly.

Weiss scoffed. "I seriously doubt they'll serve that greasy soup."

He dropped her hand but, with the help of several calming breaths, Naruto was able to ignore the comment. This was about his friends, not ramen. He just hoped the Ramen Gods weren't too offended. Arriving at the Cafeteria entrance, Naruto opened the door with a hopeful look. He then took a deep sniff, and his face dropped. "*Sigh* No ramen." Oh well, as soon as he got home, he could go to Ichiraku's. Wait... Nagato probably destroyed the place. Damn it!

He saw team RWBY and shook his head, putting his crisis on the back burner for now. "Come on." He grabbed Weiss's hand again, only for her to wrench her free.

"I can walk on my own." She said, her face still red. Hopefully she wasn't getting sick. She took the lead, stalking to her team, but hesitated upon arrival. They didn't notice her yet, as Ruby was too focused on her notes, and Blake and Yang were staring at her in confusion. Weiss cleared her throat. "May I have a word Ruby?" She asked.

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed. "Uh, sure!" She quickly scrambled to her feet and followed the heiress, who had barely waited for her confirmation before walking to an unoccupied area of the room.

"Finally, food." Naruto said as he plopped down next to Yang. Since there was already plenty of food on the table, he just grabbed several items before chowing down. He'd already eaten several plates before he noticed that the girls were staring at him. "What?"

"What was that about?" Yang asked bluntly.

"Hm, nothing really. They had a fight, I talked to them, and now they're hugging." Naruto said casually. Apparently their conversation had gone well, because across the room Ruby had pulled Weiss into a hug which she returned, albeit with a few awkward pats on the back.

Blake released a snort of amusement at her obvious discomfort. "You got Weiss Schnee to apologize?" She asked in disbelief.

He didn't ask how she knew Weiss was the one apologizing; it was easy enough to figure out. "I guess. She was already sorry." For some reason Blake looked like she didn't quite believe him.

"Good." Yang said. "Little Miss Ice Queen really needed to chill out." Naruto and Blake just stared at her in disproving silence. They stayed that way long enough for Ruby and Weiss to return.

Ruby observed them for a moment before guessing, "Yang made a bad pun again, didn't she."

"Yep." Naruto confirmed as the arrivals sat down.

Yang looked offended. "You guys have no sense of humor."

"No Yang, you just have bad jokes." Ruby said tiredly.

"Excuse me, but I'll have you know..."

* * *

Ozpin watched them, out of their sight, though his focus was mainly of the young sage. The boy was impressive, he had to admit. He'd asked Professor Port to use him for his demonstration, and Naruto hadn't disappointing. The energy he used was unfamiliar to him; it was similar to aura but different. He suspected it was this 'Chakra' he mentioned earlier, and from what he could tell the boy had a ridiculous amount of it. So much so that the few minutes he'd spent using Natural Energy shouldn't have tired him to the extent it had. Even if his version was different than the one he had encountered, the principles were still the same. This led Ozpin to the conclusion that the boy had either been in the middle of, or had just finished, a harrowing battle before being called here.

The boy was obviously experienced, too experienced to not have years of field experience, yet Naruto could still joke around with his new friends. It was comforting to see that he could remain so upbeat despite being exposed to the world's harsh realities at such a young age. He sipped his drink, deep in thought. He claimed to have a way home, but Ozpin doubted it would be so simple. It was why he had offered him a position at the school. He could be a great ally in the coming battles. And even if he was able to leave, Naruto had already helped bring team RWBY together.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Girl Under the School

**Authors Note: I do not own the rights to Naruto or RWBY, and I cannot think of an ****interesting**** way to say that right now.**

* * *

Naruto sat atop the dorm roof, completely still in the morning light as he became one with nature. Sure, after two nights rest, he'd recovered to the point where he could easily summon Ma and Pa without Sage Mode, but why spend all the extra Chakra when he didn't need to.

He wasn't going home right now; he'd never leave without saying goodbye. This was just a heads up, so they were ready to bring him home later today. With his newfound experience with being randomly summoned, he figured it would be nice to give them the courtesy of a warning. Besides, he was eager to confirm that Nagato's revival jutsu worked.

Naruto smiled as he entered Sage Mode, though he didn't open his eyes, and took a moment to enjoy the experience. He could feel the calming flow of nature all around him, dotted with bright sparks of the life-forces it encompassed. As he took it all in, he noticed something that caused his smile to fall.

Naruto had been repulsed when he'd first turned his enhanced senses on the Grimm in the forest. They're energy was a disgusting perversion of natural energy, seeking decay instead of life. Whereas normal natural energy was peaceful, theirs were violent maelstroms of hate and torment: destruction incarnate. It had been a huge relief when all that hatred had dissipated after Ruby had slain the Nevermore and the energy returned to its natural state

Right now, he could feel a source of that same energy beneath the Academy. Only, it wasn't contained in a Grimm this time. This time, it had infected someone, siphoning off their life-force. Naruto's eyes shot open. It was killing her.

* * *

Good news. Based on the complete lack of subterranean life here, this building either had a ridiculously deep foundation, or Naruto had found the elevator leading to the girl. The bad news, he couldn't get it to take him there. It kept asking for 'Proper Scroll Identification,' whatever that meant.

He could have asked Ozpin for help, but no matter how kind he seemed, Naruto didn't really know the man. For all he knew, he was this world's version of Orochimaru, and the girl was his twisted attempt to create a Grimm super soldier or something. On the other hand, he could just be trying to help her, but Naruto had no way of knowing.

It was also why he was trying to be discrete. Yes, Jiraiya had indeed taught him discretion. It was a very painful process for both of them. Luckily for him, classes didn't start for another forty minutes, so there weren't too many people about. However, there were enough so that he couldn't just blast his way in. Instead, he'd used his immense strength to lift the elevator from outside the open door. Sure, he may have dented the frame, but done it without getting caught. From there, it had been a simple matter of slipping underneath it into the elevator shaft.

After repelling down the surprisingly well-lit walls, Naruto reached the doors on the bottom floor. He forced the them open, not caring about the noise this far away from anyone, to reveal a large corridor. As Naruto hurried forward, he took a moment to observe his surroundings. "Hmm. Yeah, this isn't ominous at all." He commented sarcastically. The hallway, with its cavernous height, wide walkway, and the dim lighting from the wall-mounted torches certainly gave off a secret-lair-ish vibe.

Still, he'd seen better. Hell, his own mindscape was creepier. Of course, it also housed a giant monster fox, but- Naruto's thoughts trailed off as he finally caught sight of his target. She held inside some sort of inclined metal box, with a pane of glass on the front revealing her upper body. Despite the scarring on half her face, she was quite beautiful. Smooth light brown skin, shoulder length hair, graceful facial structure, the works. Not that he was checking her out mind you. It's just that, when you spend almost three years with a super pervert, you tend to start noticing things like that.

He approached her container and, placing a hand on the glass, focused his senses on her. It didn't look good. The Grimm Energy had impaled her aura, as he know knew it was called, with needle-thin tendrils that were trying to drain it like a leach. The only reason she was still alive was because she had a second source of power within her aura that was managing to keep it at bay. He'd never felt anything like it. It was warm and inviting. His Sage senses were different from sight, but he got the distinct impression that it was golden orange in color. The closest thing he could compare it to would be a happy version of the Kyuubi's chakra, but even that was a poor comparison. The thing was, it felt… incomplete, like something had ripped part of it away. Because of this, it was slowly losing the fight.

Naruto looked at the computer monitor. He wasn't a medic ninja, but he'd spent enough time in the hospital enough to recognize her vitals. This thing is probably trying to keep her alive. Ok, so that's a point in Ozpin's favor. It didn't matter. At the rate this was going, it was only a matter of time before she died. The only hope she had was to remove the Grimm Energy.

His mind flashed back to his battle with Pein. One of his Paths had been able to absorb some of his Chakra, including his Senjutsu Chakra. Naruto didn't have the Rinnegan, but maybe he could do something similar. It shouldn't be that hard, right? The Grimm Energy was just tainted Natural Energy, and he'd just spent weeks mastering how to absorb that. The only difference was it was inside someone this time. It shouldn't be that hard, right?

He spent a few minutes trying to open the box with the controls before giving up. He was a ninja, not a scientist for Kami's sake. Naruto gripped the bottom of the lid and tugged, breaking the latch with a sharp snap. The monitor turned red began flashing angrily, but he ignored it. He had to work fast, both to save the girl before she died, and to finish before people came to investigate. If Ozpin _was_ behind her condition, he wanted to be long gone before he arrived.

Moving to her side, Naruto placed his right palm over her facial scar where the Grimm concentration was highest. He tried passively absorbing it, but the negative energy resisted, unwilling to leave its host. Well, if it wouldn't come to Naruto, then he would go to it. he would go to it. Focusing, he channeled some chakra into the girl. He had to be careful. He couldn't just dump his Chakra into her like he did for Lady Chiyo; if she absorbed any of it, then she could turn to stone. It didn't help that the people here didn't seem to have chakra pathways, or would they be called aura pathways, to help control the flow of his chakra. Eventually though, he reached her aura without hurting her and connected to the twisted energy. It immediately noticed and tried to dig deeper into the girl's aura. Naruto wasn't having it though, and like a game of tug of war, he slowly pried it loose and brought it into himself.

As soon as it entered his system, Naruto doubled over in pain as a barrage of negative emotions assaulted him. It was such a small amount of energy, but the negativity was far more concentrated than the Kyuubi's. He could feel it trying to overwhelm with hatred: hatred against Nagato, against his father, and especially against the villagers. '_No!_' These feelings weren't his. He'd forgiven them all. It wasn't true. He didn't hate them; he wouldn't! "GHAH!" He cried out in defiance as he explosively expelled the darkness from himself in a burst of black smoke.

As his Sage Mode faded, he collapsed to his knees in exhaustion. He sat there, panting, and stared at his reflection in the tiled floor. Naruto blinked and, for a moment, he thought he saw his eyes change again. Instead of his new toad eyes, or his old sapphire ones, blood red irises situated within black sclera stared smugly back at him. Then he blinked once more, and they vanished.

Naruto heard a sharp gasp behind him and staggered to his feet, forgetting the strange hallucination. The girl was struggling get up, her eyes darting about wildly. "Hey, don't move." He said. Her gaze locked on him and became panicked. She raised her palm towards him, and light flared around her eyes before blinking out as she slumped in exhaustion. Naruto reached her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "Relax. I'm here to help."

She studied his face, searching for any deceit, nodding wearily when she found none. "Where am I?" She rasped.

"Right now, we're in some kind of secret lair beneath Beacon Academy. You know where that is, right?" Naruto asked. Yesterday, he'd gotten the impression that the school was a pretty big deal, but he could be wrong.

She visibly relaxed at his words. "The Vault." She murmured in realization. "Who are you? Where's *_cough_* Ozpin?"

Ok, judging from her reaction, Ozpin wasn't the bad guy here. Good to know. "I'm Naruto." He said with a reassuring smile. "As for Ozpin, he's-" He paused as he heard someone running towards them, and turned to find Ozpin charging with his cane extended.

"Get away from… her." He trailed off as he caught sight of the girl in the pod, slowing to a stop just a few feet from them.

"Right here." Naruto finished.

"Amber?" Ozpin exclaimed in disbelief.

"Hey old man." She greeted weakly. To Naruto's surprise, he saw a tear slide down the professor's face.

* * *

"So, why aren't we taking her to the infirmary?" Naruto asked as the elevator came to a stop.

"Because there is much more going on than you realize." The doors opened to reveal Ozpin's office, where Professor Goodwitch stood next to a bed that she somehow managed to get into to the room. She was eyeing the girl in Naruto's arms with a mixture of hope and uncertainty. "If certain people learn that Amber is recovering, then they will stop at nothing to finish what they started." Ozpin explained as Naruto gently set Amber, who had finally succumbed to exhaustion, on the bed.

"Ozpin, what is going on? How is she better, and why is he here?" Goodwitch asked.

"That is an excellent question." Ozpin replied, before addressing Naruto. "Why don't you explain it to us?"

And so he did. Starting from when he entered Sage Mode, he told them how he'd found her and his infiltration of the vault. However, when he mentioned how he absorbed the Grimm, Ozpin became incredibly concerned. "I cannot even begin to describe how lucky you are." He said gravely. "The powers of Grimm were not meant for mortals. Those that try are always consumed by their own darkness." His gaze grew distant. "Believe me, I know." Ozpin refocused on Naruto. "The mere fact that you withstood even the smallest amounts speaks volumes to your character, but I cannot stress the danger enough." He placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Promise me. Promise that you won't try anything like this again."

"I'm sorry." Naruto apologized, "but if I hadn't done this, then Amber would still be dying. If I had to do it again, I would."

"Naruto-" Ozpin tried.

Naruto cut him off, his voice full of determination. "I'll never abandon anyone. If I'm able to save someone, then nothing's going to stop me."

Ozpin studied him for a moment, then sighed. "I suppose I cannot stop you." He backed away from Naruto. "But you must understand the risks. If you succumb to the powers of Grimm, there's no coming back. It will burrow inside of you, twisting your darkest desires, and destroy everything that makes you good, until all that remains is a thirst for death and destruction." Naruto could hear the pain in his voice and wondered just who he'd lost. "Despite this," He continued, his voice returning to normal, "I owe you a great debt. You've given Amber a second chance, something I failed to do."

"Ah, it was nothing." Naruto said.

Ozpin chuckled. "No it wasn't." He said, before sighing once more. "You said you plan to leave tonight?"

"Yeah, after lunch. I was going to give Pa a heads up this morning, but I'm sure he'll be fine without one."

The Professor clasped his hands. "I would be lying if I said it brought me joy to see you go, but I guess it would be too much for me to ask you to stay."

"Sorry, there's a lot I need to do back home. They need me."

"I bet." Ozpin waved towards the door. "Then in that case, go spend time with your friends. Enjoy the time you have left with them. But, try to keep Amber to yourself."

Naruto grinned. "Thanks Oz!" He headed for the elevator, then paused. "Could you tell me if she wakes up before I leave?"

"Of course." He said, taking a sip of his coco. Where on earth did he get that?

* * *

As Professor Ann Greene, Beacon's stealth and security teacher, droned on, Ruby tried to get the attention of the boy in front of her. "Ptst, Jaune." She whispered. When he didn't respond, she tapped his shoulder. "Jaune."

"Huh?" He asked.

"Have you seen Naruto?" She asked. When he shook his head in the negative, she sagged back in her seat.

"Hey, I'm sure he just slept in is all. He'll be here in no time." Yang tried to cheer her sister up, though still in a whisper.

"But he wasn't in his room earlier." Ruby said, worried.

Weiss gave her a strange look. "And you know this how?"

"I was going to invite him to walk with us since, you know, he doesn't have a team." Weiss nodded, satisfied, before Ruby gasped. "What if he already went back home?"

"I don't think he's the type of person to just leave without saying goodbye." Blake argued.

Suddenly, a new voice whispered from beside Blake. "Who are we talking about?"

"AH!" The four girls shot towards Ruby's end of the table with a shout of surprise.

"Ladies please." Professor Greene spoke from the front. "If you are going to ignore me, then at least do your classmates the courtesy of not disrupting my lecture." She pointed her finger at the newcomer. "As for you Mr. Uzumaki, the only reason I'm not punishing you for being late is that you were somehow able to sneak in without a single one of your classmates noticing." Greene sent a pointed look around the room. "It appears that I will have to add awareness to the curriculum." She turned back to Naruto. "But rest assured, you will not get a free pass next time." Standing there in her mottled grey-green cloak, she was quite the intimidating figure.

"Of course Professor." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. "It won't happen again."

She nodded curtly before returning to her lecture. "As I was saying, a Beowolf's sense of smell…"

Ruby tried to pay attention, she really did, but her thoughts kept wondering back to Naruto. Despite showing up, his absence had reminded her that he was going to be leaving soon. Sure, she hadn't known him long, but she didn't have many friends here, and he was really easy to be around. And he gave pretty good advice too. Half of her wished he couldn't leave, while the larger half felt bad for thinking that. It's just… she'd miss him.

* * *

As Naruto ate lunch with teams RWBY and JNPR, he figured he should probably go ahead and tell them he was leaving. He hadn't said anything yet because he didn't want to ruin the mood, but it was time now. However, before he could say anything, Yang opened her mouth. "So where were you this morning Naruto?" She ruffled Ruby's hair, eliciting a squawk of indignation from the girl. "You had Rubes all worried."

"Yang!" She complained, swiping her hand away as her face reddened.

"Uh…" Ozpin had asked him not to talk about Amber, and she seemed to trust him. "I was with Ozpin." Naruto said truthfully.

"Oh, I see. You're already getting into trouble." Yang said with a smirk. "I didn't peg you as bad boy."

Naruto chuckled as he remembered the countless times Iruka had lectured him about his pranking. "Sorry, but no. It's not like there's been enough time for pranks or anything."

Nora perked up. "Pranks?"

"Oh no." Ren groaned.

"You do pranks? I LOVE pranks!" She gasped. "We should do one together!"

Ren shook his head in dismay. "Nora, please. Remember what happened last time?

"But this will be different!" She protested.

"How?"

Nora hopped over the table and pulled Naruto into a sideways hug. "Because by bud Naruto here will keep me from going 'overboard'" She claimed, using air quotes.

Naruto shook his head sadly. "As awesome as that sounds, and believe me, that does sound awesome, I can't." What a wasted opportunity. Professor Goodwitch seemed like she could really use a good laugh.

Nora slumped in disappointment "But why not?" She whined.

Naruto gave a small smile. "Because I'm going home today."

"Already?" Ruby asked, frowning.

"Yeah, I have to get back." He apologized. "I'm leaving after lunch."

Weiss scowled. "You know, it's considered rude to just spring things like this. A little warning would have been nice."

Naruto held up his hands defensively. "Heh, sorry."

"Well, I'm happy you get to go home, but I think we'll all miss you." Pyrrha said. "When does your airship leave? Maybe we can see you off."

"What's an airship?" Naruto asked. The image of a flying boat didn't seem right.

"You don't know what an airship is?" Jaune asked.

"No." he denied.

"You know, an airship!" Nora explained with her usual cheer. "Big, made of metal, flies you places. An airship!"

Naruto thought about it, before remembering his trip to the land of snow. "Oh. Those things." He shook his head. "I'm actually not taking an airship."

Pyrrha furrowed her brow. "Then how are you getting home?"

"I'm going to ask Pa to reverse summon me." Naruto said simply.

Seeing team Yang's, Blake's, and team JNPR's confusion, and not wanting to deal with the back and fourth, Weiss explained for him. "Basically, Pa is a talking toad that Naruto can summon, like I did to him. Pa will then be able to do something called a reverse summoning to get him home." She looked at Naruto. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope! Got it in one."

"Hold on." Yang interrupted. "Ignoring the talking frogs for a second-"

"Toads" Naruto corrected

"- toads, I thought your semblance was clones."

Semblance. What was a semblance again? Oh yeah, Goodwitch had explained it in class yesterday. "That wasn't my semblance. I actually don't have one."

"What are you talking about? Everyone has a semblance, even if they don't know what it is." Pyrrha said. "It's a part of your aura."

"My aura is pretty different from yours." Naruto said.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, skeptical.

How to explain this. "Ok, so I'm from another dimension." Everyone stared at him in disbelief, but he continued anyway. "Where I'm from, we don't exactly have aura. Instead, we have Chakra. It's a combination of physical and spiritual energies that I can use to do all kinds of cool stuff."

They sat for a moment to digest the information, before Nora broke the silence. "So… can I be there when you bring Pa here? I want to see a talking toad."

"Seriously?" Weiss asked. "You aren't at all phased by this?"

Nora gave her a dismissive wave. "Not really. He's from another dimension and has weird powers. Classic comic book stuff. So what?" Weiss looked dumbfounded by her casual dismissal of the situation. "What I want to know is if I get to see a talking toad today."

"I don't see why not." Naruto said with a grin, before glancing at the clock on the wall. "But your next class starts in ten minutes. Won't you be late?"

He looked back to see that Nora had just devoured her food: all three plates of it. "Nope!" She grabbed Naruto's arm and raced off, dragging him like a rag doll. "Let's go!"

"Hey! Wait for us!" Ruby called as she hurried after them, shortly followed by the rest of their friends.

Much to Naruto's dismay, Nora ignored her. "Hurry up slowpokes!" She yelled over her shoulder. For Naruto, the hallway passed by in a blur of motion, and Nora gave him no time to gain his footing. It was a relief when she eventually came to a stop at one of Beacon's training fields.

The training fields were walled of areas that teams could reserve for combat practice, most with their own terrains. Looking around, Naruto saw that the one Nora had brought them to was a flat, sparsely wooded field with a small pond in the center. "Well?" Nora asked, bouncing energetically. "Let's see it!"

Naruto sweat dropped at her enthusiasm. "Shouldn't we wait for them?" He asked, pointing at their panting friends at the gate.

"Probably." Nora said with a shrug. "I just can't wait!" Naruto had to smile at her enthusiasm. He knew she wasn't trying to get rid of him; she was just excited to see a talking animal.

"Nora." Ren panted as walked up to her. "What did I say about dragging your friends?"

"…Too ask them first?" She answered hesitantly.

He sighed. "Close enough."

Naruto turned away from the duo as Weiss approached him. "So, I guess this is goodbye."

He smiled sadly. "Looks like it."

She stuck out her hand. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad I met you. And not just because you broke my fall."

Naruto shook her hand. "Me too!" He said, before releasing her. Suddenly, Ruby tackled him in a hug.

"Oh, I'm going to miss you!" She told him.

Weiss frowned. "You dolt! Are you always so" She waved her hand around, trying to find the right word, "huggy?"

"Yep!" Yang informed her. "Always has been, probably always will be."

Naruto returned the hug, patting her on the back. "I know. I'll miss you too." They stayed like that for a moment before separating. "Welp!" He said, putting on a smile. "Who wants to meet Pa?"

"Oh! Me! I do!" Nora waved her hand excitedly.

"Ok then. Here we go!" Naruto bit his thumb, drawing startled gasp from several of the onlookers, and ran through a series of hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!" He yelled as he slammed his hand on the ground, causing strange symbols to spiral out from beneath his palm. Everyone, especially Weiss, looked on in fascination as something appeared in a burst of smoke. It cleared to reveal… a tadpole. "What?" Naruto shouted in surprise.

Nora bounded over to the animal and waved. "Hello Pa, I'm Nora! Nice to meet you!"

"Uh, Nora?" Ren said.

"Yeah?"

"I don't think that's Pa." He pointed at Naruto, who was staring at his hands in confusion.

"I don't understand." He mumbled. He dismissed the tadpole and tried again, only to face similar results. Come on! He was using the right amount of Chakra, so why was he getting freakin' tadpoles!

"Naruto?" Ruby asked, concerned. He ignored her. He once again dismissed the summon and, biting his now healed thumb, repeated the jutsu. Only this time, he channeled as huge chunk of his Chakra into it.

"Where am I?" The new arrival asked. Finally!

"*_Gasp!_* He does talk!" Nora got in his face. "And he's so cute!"

"Oi, who the blazes are you?" He asked.

"Gamaton! Man, am I glad to see you." Gamaton was a small, bright orange messenger toad that Naruto had met on Mount Myōboku. He may not be Pa, but he could certainly give him a message.

At his voice, Gamaton hopped onto Nora's head to get a better look. "Naruto! You're ok!"

"Of course I am! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

As they spoke, Nora slowly straightened. "Ren! Ren look! He's standing on me." She whispered excitedly.

"I can see that." Ren said in amusement.

"Quick, take a picture!"

"Alright, who is this chick?" Gamaton asked.

"That's Nora. She's a bit excitable."

"I can see that." Gamaton commented with a grin.

Weiss gave a very deliberate cough, causing Naruto to turn to them. "Oh, and these are Weiss, Ruby, Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, Jaune, and Ren." He said, pointing at each in turn. He turned back to the messenger toad. "Listen, I need you to back and tell Pa to summon me home."

Gamaton smile disappeared. "Sorry mate, we already tried that."

Naruto blinked. "What?"

"You didn't think we'd just leave you kami-knows-where, did ya? After that Kakashi guy told them what happened, Ma and Pa immediately tried to bring you back, but something's keeping you here. We've got no idea what it is or, more importantly, how to get rid of it." He looked around. "That's not even mentioning the massive amount of Chakra it will take to bring you across dimensions. I'm surprised you even managed to summon me."

Naruto felt a sense of dread wash over him. "So that means-"

"That until we figure something out, you're stuck here." Gamaton finished.

* * *

Somewhere in a bar outside of Vale, an unkempt man downed his fifth shot. "Another." He said, placing his glass on the table.

The bartender complied. "So, what's troubling you? It's a bit early to be getting drunk."

"Nothing that concerns you." The man said curtly. The Barkeep shrugged and passed the glass. The man was about to drink it when his scroll buzzed. He pulled it out and sighed. "Looks like this'll have to wait." He set down the glass and stood. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out several Lien. "Keep the change." He said, tossing the money onto the counter, and walked out the door.

* * *

"Well?" Tobi asked, irritated. Why wouldn't he be? He'd been moments away from complete victory before the Kyuubi was torn from his grasp, and his only hope of finding him was this arrogant snake.

Kabuto hummed from his workstation. "It appears that Naruto is no longer in this reality." He said, smirking all the while.

Tobi narrowed his visible eye. He couldn't kill him, no matter how much he irked him. "I know that. I _want_ to know if you can bring him back!"

Kabuto's expression never faltered. "Perhaps. From what you've told me, the toads have already failed." Zetsu had been very helpful in that regard. "It's possible." Kabuto continued and indicated a large sheet of paper on his table, containing a deceptively simple snowflake design. However, if one looked closely, you could see that the entire thing was made up of smaller, intricate symbols that wove around each other to create the illusion of solidity. "Without this, there wouldn't be much I could do. But, of course, you have a great eye for art." He chuckled at his own joke. "Still, it might take me a while to decipher it."

Beneath Toby's mask, a mirthless smile formed. "Then you best get started."

* * *

**Authors Note: The differences and connection between Aura and Chakra will be explained later on. It's just that Naruto isn't the best person for a technical explanation.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Autumn

**Authors Note: **

**I'm… alive? I'm alive! Ha! Take that Larry!**

**Since there is very little information on Amber, I took some liberties with her character and background.**

**I'm considering giving Naruto a weapon. Any suggestions?**

**Also, any suggestions on what Amber's semblance should be? To my knowledge, we never learned what it was. It does not have to be battle-related, but keep in mind that there should be a reason that she did not use it in her fight.**

**Unfortunately, I didn't get the rights to RWBY or Naruto during my, admittedly long, break.**

* * *

For the first time in weeks, Amber slept peacefully. This wasn't her rough sleeping bag or that cold, metallic tube where she struggled for life. This was a real, soft, oh so warm bed, and she was determined to squeeze every second of rest she could from it.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. She groaned as rays of afternoon rudely pulled her back to consciousness. Her eyes briefly fluttered open, before she screwed them shut. In a stubborn attempt to escape the light, she flipped over so that she was laying face down on her pillow. She'd earned a few extra hours of sleep.

She might have gotten it too, if it wasn't for the room's other occupant. "And here I was thinking you'd want to see me." A glib voice remarked. A voice she knew all too well.

As she recalled recent events, Amber lifted her head to glare at the offender, though it had no real heat behind it. "What gave you that idea Qrow?" The scruffy man sat in Ozpin's chair with his legs casually propped up on the desk. Looking around, she saw that her bed was situated on the far side of Ozpin's office from the large windows, about equidistant from the desk and the elevators.

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe it was the fact that I saved your life." He casually picked his ear with his pinky. "Did you know you drool in your sleep?"

Amber stiffly sat up and looked down at her body. She vaguely remembered wearing a white tube-top and skirt when she woke up, but somebody, most likely Glynda, had changed her into a familiar set of clothes. Could they really not find anything other than the school uniform? "Oh, have you been watching me sleep this whole time? A bit creepy, don't you think?" She quipped, stretching out the stiff muscles in her back.

"Of course not." Qrow swung his feet off the desk and stood. "We took shifts."

Amber pulled on the comfortable, albeit plain, boots that were by her bed. "Oh, like that makes it any better." She said as she stood as well.

He shrugged. "If it helps, I only got here an hour ago." He just a few feet shy of her.

"It really doesn't." They stood there, eyeing each other, before they embraced.

"Damn, it's good to see you." Qrow told her, his voice thick with emotion that might surprise anyone who'd only met his rougher side.

"Same here." She pulled back. "I guess I should thank you for saving my life. Again."

He shook his head. "I'm not the one you should be thanking."

Amber frowned in confusion. "Why not? You were the one that rescued me."

Qrow sighed and pulled out his flask. "I did, but not in time." He paused to take a swig of his drink. "However they stole your powers hurt you. Badly. We could barely keep you alive, and even then, your condition was slowly deteriorating." He took another drink. "If Naruto hadn't literally fallen into our laps, you wouldn't have lasted the year."

Naruto. He was that Toad Faunus from the vault. "Who is he anyway?"

"I should probably let Ozpin explain." Qrow pulled out his scroll. "I need to call him anyway to tell him you're awake." Just as he was about to do so, the elevator chimed. "Speak of the devil."

Ozpin walked into the room carrying a tray of food, his eyes lighting up when he saw her. "Amber. I'm so glad your awake." He hurried over. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good all things considered." Even though being on deaths door less than forty-eight hours ago, her only real ailment was a small headache. Suddenly, her stomach growled angrily as she caught a whiff of whatever Ozpin brought with him. "Hungry though."

The two men chuckled in amusement. "Indeed." Ozpin said, handing her the tray. She slightly disappointed to see that it was only a simple soup and some bread, but she understood that it was best to start off light after spending extended periods without having anything solid. Ozpin gestured to the two chaired in front of his desk. "Come sit. We have much to discuss."

* * *

"Absolutely not!"

"Amber-" Ozpin tried.

"No. I am a huntress. More than that, I'm a Maiden. You can't seriously expect me to agree to this." After managing to finish her meal, Amber had told Ozpin what little she could about fight. Most of her memories were hazy, but that woman's face was seared into her memory. You never forgot the person who violated your soul. In turn, Ozpin brought her up to speed on everything that had been going on, including Naruto.

Ozpin sighed tiredly. "It is precisely because you are the fall maiden that I'm asking you to do this. Despite the fact that Ironwood's Atlesian technology prevented you from suffering any significant muscle atrophy, you're still vulnerable. If they defeated you at full strength, then how do you think you'll fare now that they have half your Maiden powers?"

"So send me off with Qrow!" Amber countered in frustration. "The two of us will be more than enough."

Beside her, Qrow scoffed. "Oh, that's a great idea; stay with the literal bad luck charm. See how that turns out." He said sarcastically.

"Amber, something big is coming, and these people will never stop coming for you. At least this way we'll be ready for them."

She knew he was right, but still. She'd worked her butt of to get to where she was. "I don't like it."

"You don't have to." Qrow said. "As hunters, we often have to do things we don't want to, but we do it because it's our job." He took a sip from his flask. "Besides, it's only temporary. You only have to do this until we either get them, or we get your powers back."

Seeing that she was wavering, Ozpin continued. "If you die, then there is a good chance that your powers will seek out its other half, and then Salem will have access to the relic of choice. We cannot allow that to happen." His gaze softened. "And… we don't want to lose you again."

"…Fine." She relented.

"Thank you Amber." Ozpin turned to the man beside her. "Qrow, if you would be so kind."

"Alright." He stood and started for the door. "I'll be right back kid."

Amber glared at him, though the corner of her lips twitched as she fought off a smile. "When are you going to stop calling me that? I'm twenty for dust's sake."

Qrow faced her as he backed into the elevator and held up his flask. "As soon as I stop drinking."

"So never." She supplied.

Qrow smirked. "Exactly."

* * *

From the edge of the courtyard, Ruby watched as Naruto and Nora exchanged excited whisperer with a mixture of relief and trepidation. On one hand, she was glad to see that he wasn't letting his situation get to him. On the other hand, she didn't like the devious expressions on their faces.

"How long have they been like that?" Yang asked.

Ruby looked at her scroll. "About twenty minutes."

"Should we be worried?"

Before Ruby could answer, Ren's head popped up out of a nearby bush, startling Ruby enough to jump into Yang's arms. "No, you should be afraid." Ren said with, ignoring their reaction. "You should be very afraid." He shuddered as sunk back into the foliage.

Ruby shared a weary look with her sister. "Why?" Yang asked as her sister got off her. When no response came, she walked over to the bush. "Why should we be afraid?" She asked, annoyance creeping into her voice. Again, no response came. "Ren-" She parted the leaves to look at him, only to sigh. "Aaaand he's gone."

"Woah!" Ruby exclaimed as she circled the plant. There was nothing by it, so he shouldn't have been able to leave without them noticing. "How'd he do that?"

Yang shrugged. "Who knows?"

At that moment, Nora let out a somewhat disturbing laugh. "Oh that's perfect!"

"I'm more worried about them." Yang finished.

Ruby agreed. She didn't know what they were planning, but it couldn't be good. They should probably do something to get on their good side before they began their all-out prank war. The question was how? Ruby couldn't bribe him with cookies, even if they were perfect, what with their sugary goodness and gooey, delicious, choco- She shook her hear. '_Focus!_' Naruto wasn't a cookie fan. He liked- A lightbulb flashed in her mind.

"Hey Yang, we're allowed to go to Vale, right?"

"Sure. I mean, it's Friday, so it's not like we have any more classes till Monday." She said. "Why?

"Well, I was thinking we could take Naruto to that noodle shop you told me about."

Yang's eyes lit with understanding. "A Simple Wok?"

"Yeah, the one with the giant bowls of ramen!" Ruby confirmed.

As if her words were a summoning jutsu of their own, Naruto was suddenly right beside her. On an unrelated note, several students lay dazed on the floor between them and Nora. "Giant bowls of what now?" He asked eagerly.

"Only the best ramen you've ever tasted." Yang declared.

Ruby swore she could see a fire burning in his eyes. "Then what are we waiting for? I need to see how it compares to Ichiraku! Let's go!" Naruto looked like he was about to run off when Yang's words stopped him.

"Hold up. You don't have any money, remember?" Ruby had to giggle at the sheer look of horror on his face. "Of course, I could pay for you," He looked at Yang with a glimmer of hope, only for her to snuff out. "buuuut I won't."

For his sake, Ruby did her best to hide her amusement as Naruto fell to his knees with anime tears streaming from his eyes. "There there." She said, patting his head. "Don't listen to her. I'll get you some ramen."

He sniffed. "Really?"

She nodded "Really."

"Well isn't this touching." Someone commented from behind them.

The trio whipped around to face the newcomer. "Uncle Qrow!" Ruby launched herself at him and latched onto his arm. He stretched his arm out, lifting Ruby with it. "Oh it's so good to see you! Did you miss me? Did you miss me?!"

Qrow seemed to consider this for a moment before smirking. "Nope." He ruffled his hair and set her down.

"Qrow!" Yang pulled him into a quick, but still tight, hug. "What are you doing here?" She asked as she released him.

"Oh, you know. Typical huntsman reasons." He said vaguely. "Still breaking boy's hearts?" Qrow asked, inclining his head at Naruto.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Lay off it old man. I was just teasing him." She draped an arm over Naruto's shoulder. "Qrow, meet Naruto. Naruto, this is our uncle Qrow."

Naruto waved at him from within her hold. "Hi."

"So you're the guy Oz has been going on about." Qrow said

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "You know Ozpin?"

"Oh yeah. We go way back." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure he asked me to bring you to his office."

"He's not in trouble, is he?" Ruby asked, concerned.

"He better not be." Nora commented as she reached them. "We haven't even started our… uh… extracurricular activities yet."

Qrow waved his hand in dismissal. "Nah. He just wanted to talk about something."

"Can it wait? Ruby offered to buy me ramen." Naruto ducked under Yang's arm. "She's nice like that, unlike _some_ people." He shot Yang a mock glare, to which she responded by sticking out her tongue.

"Afraid not." When Naruto slumped in disappointment, he continued. "Tell you what. If you come see Oz with me, I'll get you all the ramen you can eat."

Naruto instantly cheered up. "You sure? I can eat a lot ya' know."

Qrow chuckled, obviously not taking his warning seriously. "Don't sweat it kid. You can't be any worse than Ruby with her cookies." Oh how he would regret those words.

* * *

As he rode the elevator with Qrow, Naruto couldn't help but wonder what Ozpin wanted. He couldn't have found a way for him to get home already, could he?

After sending Gamaton off to with a letter for Tsunade, thankfully Weiss had her school supplies on her, he'd gone to talk to Ozpin. The others had wanted to go with him, but he hadn't wanted them to get in trouble for missing class. When he explained the situation, Ozpin had not only allowed him to remain at the school until he left, but he also offered to help him find a way home.

Since he had no better options, Naruto had accepted. And who knows, he might learn a thing or two before getting home. And rest assured, Naruto would get home. He still had to save Sasuke from himself. Not to mention the threat from Tobi. In the meantime, he'd keep training and keep getting stronger.

"Naruto," Qrow started, causing him to look at the older man. "Thank you."

"For what?" Naruto asked.

"For saving Amber. I've known her since she was little, and she means a lot to me. So, thank you."

He grinned. "I'm just glad I could help." He paused. "How's she doing?"

"See for yourself." Qrow said as the doors opened to show two people conversing at Ozpin's desk, and his eyes lit up as he recognized them.

"Hey Amber!" He greeted loudly, despite the size of the room. "You're awake!"

She faced him and offered a smile. "Sure am. I hear I have you to thank for that."

Huh, a lot of people had been thanking him recently. "Ah, it was nothing."

"No, it most certainly was not." Ozpin denied. "Without you, Amber would have had no hope of surviving. We are in your debt." Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, unused to so much praise. "However, I'm afraid I must ask another favor of you. It could be dangerous, but you do not have to accept."

"Sure, lay it on me." Naruto said, missing Amber's slight frown. The Professor was helping him get home, so he had no problem helping him out. Maybe he had a cool mission for him. It explained why Qrow was here. Despite his obvious drunken state, he carried himself like a seasoned warrior. Kind of like Tsunade.

"I would like for you…" Naruto leaned forward in anticipation. "to take Amber on as your partner."

"…Huh?" That wasn't what he had been expecting. Naruto glanced over at Amber, who seemed somewhat annoyed. Hopefully it wasn't directed at him.

"I would like to make Amber your partner here at Beacon." Ozpin repeated.

"Okay. Why?" Naruto asked. "Not that I have a problem with it or anything, but isn't she already a huntress?" That's what the headmaster had told him yesterday.

Amber threw up her hands in agitation "Thank you! That's what I said."

"Too bad you already agreed." Qrow commented. "What's that thing you always told me? Oh, right. No take backs."

She sent him a glare, though it held little heat. "Shut up Qrow."

"If I may continue," Ozpin interjected, before addressing Naruto. "I want Amber here at Beacon for her own safety. To understand, I must give you a small history lesson." Seriously? School just ended an hour ago, and now he had to listen to _more_ history? "I don't suppose you're familiar with the Story of the Seasons?"

"Nope. Never heard of it."

He nodded. "I thought as much. Most people in Remnant believe it is just a fairy tale, but I assure you, what I am about to tell you is very much true. Long ago, there was man who, burdened from lifetimes of suffering and his own failures, had given up on humanity. He shut himself off from the world, content to live the rest of his days in solitude. That is, until four sisters visited him. The first urged him to meditate to come to terms with his suffering. The second brought him fruits and flowers and brought his garden back to life. The third convinced him to step outside his home and embrace the world. And the fourth showed him how to look at all that he had and be thankful. Their kindness stirred something within that man that he hadn't felt in a long time: hope. Hope that all was not lost; hope that there was still good in humanity."

Naruto listened, unsure where he was going with this. At least it was more interesting than Professor Port's stories. "To thank them for their kindness, the man blessed them with incredible powers in hopes that they would continue to help others around the world." Naruto frowned as the picture started to come together. "And thus, the first maidens were born, each named after the seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. However, much like the seasons they are named after, the Maidens are ever-changing. When they die, their power seeks out a new host who becomes the new Maiden."

"Amber's a Maiden, right?" Naruto asked, voicing his suspicions.

Ozpin blinked in surprise. "Yes, she is. The Fall Maiden to be exact. How did you know?"

"I could feel a second source of energy when I was helping her yesterday. I'm guessing that is the Maiden powers." Naruto shrugged. "I didn't say anything about it because I didn't know if you were keeping it a secret." After all, with the similarities to a Jinchūriki, he didn't want to take the risk of revealing something personal without her permission.

She smiled. "Thanks. I appreciate the concern Blonde." Again with the thank you.

"Any time." He said, then began addressing Ozpin again. "But if she's so strong, then why are you so worried about her safety?" Did it have anything to do with the condition he'd found her in? And why did the situation feel so familiar?

"Because," Qrow explained, "There are people after the Maidens. They already captured Amber once and managed to steal part of her powers before I rescued her. It's only a matter of time before they come for her again. You can imagine what would happen if the wrong people get their hands on this kind of power."

Naruto's eyes widened in realization. "Shit." This was the damn Akatsuki all over again!

"Yes, 'shit' indeed." Ozpin agreed. "That is why I want her to become your partner. Not only will it give her an excuse to remain at the school, constantly surrounded by hunters in training, but you will be there to protect her should the worst happen."

"Why me?" Naruto asked. Not that he had any problem with it, but it seemed a bit out of the blue.

"Because, quite frankly, I believe I can trust you." Naruto hadn't been expecting that answer. "If you were working with them, then you would have killed Amber when you had the chance. Instead, you revived her. Add to that your willingness to fight alongside strangers in the forest despite your exhaustion, it is clear that you won't abandon her. Additionally, you're the only student without a team. It makes it easier to explain her sudden appearance." Ozpin clasped his hands. "So tell me, will you do this for us?"

Naruto thought about it. It made sense, and it's not like he was just going to abandon someone that needed his help. "Alright, sure!"

"Just like that?" Amber asked in surprise.

"Yep!" He said, giving her a large thumbs up.

"You do realize how dangerous this is, right? They were strong enough before, but now they have a demi-maiden on their side. If you fight her, there's a very real chance that you could die."

Naruto shrugged. "So? That's never stopped me before."

She stood there, unsure how to respond. "Ha!" Qrow clapped him on the back. "You've got guts. I knew there was a reason I liked you."

Naruto grinned. "Good, because you still owe me dinner. Oh, that reminds me," He faced Ozpin again. "For some reason, they don't serve ramen here. Can you do something about that?"

"I'll see what I can do." He said, amused.

"Awesome." Finally, he would no longer be deprived of the treasure that was ramen.

"One more thing." Naruto focused back on Ozpin. "It's to our advantage if the enemy believes that Amber is still out of commission. As such, she will attend school under a fake identity, going by the name 'Autumn'."

"A bit on the nose, don't you think." Qrow observed.

Ozpin just smiled. "Perhaps. I believe the phrase is 'hiding in plain sight'." He grabbed something from under his desk and held it out to Amber. "We also got you this."

She took it, looking thoroughly annoyed. "Really, a mask?"

"I'm sorry, but we cannot take the risk that someone might recognize you. We don't know how much influence they have, or who is watching."

"I know." She sighed and put it on. "It's still irritating though." The mask was very different from Kakashi's. Instead of cloth, this was made from some sort of flexible, somewhat leather-like breathable material that would cover most of her face. It was stylized to look like a maple leaf without the top peak, with the bottom two blades curving down over her cheeks while leaving her mouth uncovered. It was a deep green with gold trim and matched well with her olive skin. If you looked closely, you could make out some of the scarring around her left eye, but overall it did a fantastic job. **(AN: For reference, see ** themotleymasquerade/art/Green-and-Gold-Leaf-Mask-348105861 **and remove the top peak. Their other work is pretty cool too.)**

"Looks good." Naruto complimented her, getting a smile in return. "So is that everything Oz?" He then asked.

"Yes. Tha-"

That was all Naruto needed to hear. "Come on!" Naruto grabbed both Qrow's and Amber's hands. "It's ramen time!" he cheered as he dragged both of them into the elevator.

* * *

Weiss had just settled in for some light studying before dinner when Ruby burst into their room. "Weiss, get up! We've got to go!"

"She looked up from her notes. "Get up for what- Hey!" She protested as Ruby began dragging her from the room. "Where are we going?!"

"To the docking bays!" She said, not slowing down at all. If anything, she went faster, and Weiss was having trouble keeping up as the campus blurred past them. "Hurry! Yang and Blake are already there!" Weiss would have protested, but she was too busy trying to stay on her feet. Was she using her semblance or something? She must have been, because they reached the docking bay in record time. "We're here!" Ruby called as they came to an abrupt stop next to their teammates, who were by a waiting airbus.

"About time." Yang teased.

"Hey, Qrow's not even here yet!" She protested.

Weiss screwed her eyes shut and held her head as she groaned. "Is she ok?" Blake asked.

Yang shrugged. "She'll be fine. Ruby just got a bit too excited is all."

Ruby sheepishly pushed her index fingers together. "Heh, my bad."

"Well, looks like everyone made it." A rough voice spoke from behind them.

Blinking in an attempt to clear away the nausea, Weiss faced the speaker, and her nose promptly wrinkled in distaste. "Team, meet my Uncle Qrow!" Ruby proudly announced. This ruffian was her uncle? What was he even doing here? "Uncle Qrow, these are our teammates, Blake and Weiss." She introduced, pointing to each respectively.

"Pleasure." He replied with a nod.

"Great. Can we go now? I'm starving!" Weiss's gaze flicked over to Naruto, who she'd somehow missed, along with his companion.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" The girl asked, and Weiss's breath caught as she got a good look at her. She was gorgeous. Objectively speaking of course.

Naruto shot her an apologetic smile. "Oh, sorry." He turned to team RWBY. "Guys, meet Autumn, my new partner."

* * *

**Authors Note: Yes, I am well aware that Tsunade is in a coma.**

**Any outfit ideas for Amber? It makes more sense for her to wear a different outfit, but I have zero talent for fashion.**


End file.
